MikeR Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 (edited) Alrighty, continuing on from THIS thread, I've decided to start a WIP. I bought the kit not long after it was released, after reading the reviews (so I was warned! ), stuck a few bits of the interior together, then left it for a few years. I decided to finally make a start on it towards the end of my IJN Kako build for the Pacific War GB, mainly because I was in the mood for a challenge. "After all," I thought, "lets see how I get on. It can't be that unbuildable, can it?" As of yesterday, after a month, this was as far as I'd got: Now, todays progress: The windscreen and turret are only placed on, the tail assembly needs filling and tidying and the wings have been glued at the trailing edge only. I've done a fair bit of digging on t'web and unsurprisingly, I haven't found an awful lot. I do know that I'll have to stick the tail on before fixing the wings in place in order to help get the correct dihedral. I've also discovered that the P&W engines and cowlings are too big. What I'll do there is pinch them from an Academy PBY I've got in the stash. I've bought a set of Quickboost engines and cowlings for the Cat to replace the ones I'm using. I'll be honest - I'm quite enjoying this. I bought the kit knowing full well it was an MPM kit in an Italeri box, so I knew it wasn't a shake'n'baker. A little at a time for a few days, then an enforced stop for a few more days due to my work rota seems to be preventing burnout! As a result, progress is going to be sloooooowwwwww! Mike. Edited October 6, 2017 by MikeR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Gordon Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 (edited) Looking good so far Mike,keep plugging away at it.The only reason I haven't finished mine is that I ran out of white paint,and then moved house so she's still in the box of doom waiting to be resurrected. Edited October 3, 2011 by Alex Gordon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moofles Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 looking good bud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test Graham Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 I keep looking at mine and thinking "It can't be as bad as people say" and thinking that even if it is, it would be interesting to have a go. Thankfully, I do have the Red Roo nacelles. However, I bought it to do a desert ambulance which turned out to be a Lodestar anyway, and I do have a Lodestar which appears to be slightly less of a challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 (edited) I'd say the big secret with this kit is patience and lots of it! If you feel frustration setting in, stop and do something else! It helps if your in the mood to tackle something like this as well. As for the kit itself, the fit isn't exactly great, especially the where the tailplane and fins are concerned. I spent a chunk of this afternoon filling and sanding the joins, so much so that I'll have to rescribe some of the detail. The fit of the fuselage halves wasn't great on my example either - I suspect the sprues were pulled out of the mould too early and they warped. Knocking off the locating pins and using plastic shims to spread one side to match the other helped the problem, though a fair bit of filler was needed. It's the same with the insert for the dorsal turret and the tail assembly needs to be filled at the front. Having made the wings, I can see sanding and filling will be required there as well, mainly around the nacelles and the back end of the wing roots. One wing seems to be slightly deeper in section, though I suspect the wing spar MPM included isn't helping the fit. Suffice to say, you need lots of filler! I've also knocked off that much of the engraved detail I'm in two minds whether to re-instate it! So, on the whole, I'd say the kit can be built, but it's not a quick build by any means. Mike. P.S. Whilst I'm at it, does anyone have any suggestions for a Humbrol equivalent of RAAF Earth Brown? Edited October 3, 2011 by MikeR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDSModeller Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 (edited) Mike. P.S. Whilst I'm at it, does anyone have any suggestions for a Humbrol equivalent of RAAF Earth Brown? Hi Mike Looking good! Hopefully this might help, The RAAF BALM Earth Brown colour (as I understand) is similar/same as RNZAF BALM colour WWII RAAF Colours HTH Alan Edited October 4, 2011 by LDSModeller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 You got further than I did. I didn't even get the fuselage closed up before I decided to ditch the damn thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Looking tidy! I have a soft spot for the Hudson and still kick myself that I didn't get one when they came out. A bit of trivia - the mk.IV was the Aussie mk.I which was redesignated to avoid confusion with the British mk.I. The mk.V was an anomaly in that it reintroduced the spinner previously found on the mk.I. The mk.VI didn't have them. Keep up the good work! Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FZ6 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I've got one of these in a box with a few interior parts assembled ready to paint as well. Look forward to seeing how you get on with it as I've not seen many built up yet. Regards, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I've completed one!!! I had one for review for SAMI when first released. To some people it may well be a bad kit to put together, but I built mine within a month LONG before the other reports of this kit and found it quite pleasing. Yes there may be a few fit issues but its an MPM tool and we all know that they are good kits but not the easiest to build. Persevere and do lots of dry runs. I'll find mine in the loft and put up pics so you can all see its not that bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Mike, I have been doing one of these on and off for a while now, am enjoying it too, stalled at the mo as still not sure about the scheme. Keep up the good work. All the best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 (edited) As promised earlier, here are a couple of shots of my Italeri Hudson. More pics in WWII section. I left it clean deliberately and didn't attempt to weather. But it goes to show that it will build up well. And sorry for poor quality pics... did them in a bit of a rush. Edited October 5, 2011 by Paul J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Nice build Paul! Looks like you managed to keep more of the surface detail than I have! Thanks for the colour info, Alan. I go back to work tonight, plus I have to attend a funeral in Gosport/Portsmouth next Friday, so progress is going to stall for the next few weeks. I've more-or-less got the wings sorted, just a smidge more filler on one nacelle and that should be done. When I get going again, it'll be joining the wings to the fuselage. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Nice build and I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. Mine is virtually complete structurally and has been sat around awaiting masking of transperancy for the last year or so because I became irriitated with MPM overenginerring the damn thing. I heard a rumour that the moulds were damaged when they were being made and I wonder if there was a rush job to meet a contract deadline with Italeri as it has the feel of being rushed in places. Some more positve location of parts, e.g. the nose would have been helpful. Your build is inspiring me to get mine out again and finish it, as has been said it is buildable but requires patience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted October 29, 2011 Author Share Posted October 29, 2011 (edited) Hi Martin, thanks for the encouraging words! I did get a bit scunnered with it so it's been sitting in it's box for the past wee while. Here's the latest progress: Finally got the wings on! It all seems to be in line with everything, though I did accidently pop the tail assembly off trying to "adjust" it. I'll need to fill the wing roots anyway, so I'll get the tail all blended in again when I do that. I've also made a start on getting the Academy PBY engines done. I'm using the plans in the Warpaint Hudson book as a guide to help position them. I'll need to manufacture a mounting for them and add the flaps to the cowlings. One advantage of the Academy cowlings is the lack of scribing, so I don't have fill any panel lines! Mike. Edited October 6, 2017 by MikeR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyinoz Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 Nice build and I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. Mine is virtually complete structurally and has been sat around awaiting masking of transperancy for the last year or so because I became irriitated with MPM overenginerring the damn thing. I heard a rumour that the moulds were damaged when they were being made and I wonder if there was a rush job to meet a contract deadline with Italeri as it has the feel of being rushed in places. Some more positve location of parts, e.g. the nose would have been helpful. Your build is inspiring me to get mine out again and finish it, as has been said it is buildable but requires patience. Yeah its a bugger, I built two of them, one for a friend, I have two extra kits which I bought because they were going cheap..dont think I will ever build them... there is only so much a man can bare the first one the second one I made things easier for myself doing a civil conversion keep on going its character building.,. apparently LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 Nice job on those two, Wally! I've always rather liked Adastra's colour scheme. No pics today - I've had another sand'n'fill, sand'n'fill session with the wings and tail assembly, so it's not looking too bad at the moment. I need to add some scrap plasticard at the trailing edge of the wings next to the fuselage to fill a bit of a gap and that should be the wings done with. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) Progress for today: Wings sorted, PBY engines mounted and intakes on. PBY cowlings on for a test fit, all seems OK. Just need to add the cowling flaps and adjust the upper intakes next. I've now run out of daylight, so that'll have to be it for today. Mike. Edited October 6, 2017 by MikeR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted November 12, 2011 Author Share Posted November 12, 2011 (edited) One step forward, two steps back! Glued the cowlings and intakes on then had a go at the exhausts. After sticking them on, I realised that they need to be blended in! Something which would have been easier to do before glueing the wings on! Rather than rush into it in haste I decided to put the model to one side and have a breather for a week or so. So, a wee bit of progress for today: I've removed the intakes and started blending the exhaust shrouds in to the nacelle. I also added some plasticard to the back of the nacelle to give the cowling flaps something more substantial to attach to. Mike. Edited October 6, 2017 by MikeR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 (edited) Latest progress - finally, it's been built!!!!! Just need to start painting it now............ I think I'll go for Humbrol 149 and 98 on top and 122 on the bottom. Mike. Edited October 6, 2017 by MikeR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Lime Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Looks like the slow, methodical approach has paid off there. Looking forward to seeing this one with some paint on it. Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyinoz Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 there ya go..piece of cake! (well not really)..good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 Thanks guys! Well, I think I'll have to go to plan "B" with the uppersurface colours. I've brush painted two coats of Humbrol 98 on it (first coat was a bit too thin), but it's way too dark. It seems an OK match for the RAAF Dark Earth colour, but from searching the web, it seems that it was superseeded by the RAAF Earth Brown colour in 1943 or so, prior to the order for Foliage Green uppers. Which means I'll have to find a nearest Humbrol or Revell equivalent! H110 isn't red enough, but H118 and H119 aren't dark enough! Anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for out-of-the-tin as I don't really like mixing paints. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) Well, I think I've found away round my colour conundrum. For RAAF Earth Brown I used White Ensign Models RN Corticene! Here it is on the model with Humbrol 75 Bronze Green substituting for RAAF Foliage Green. Under Natural Light: Under the flash from the camera: What does everyone think? Mike. Edited October 6, 2017 by MikeR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thats looking very nice and the colours look good to me,......have you made any more progress? Cheers Tony O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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